35 Couple Journal Ideas to Get Closer to Your Partner

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Last Updated on September 21, 2023

Journaling is a super effective self care activity, so why not spice it up and do it as a couple?!

These couple journal ideas help you connect deeper, learn more about your partner, and cherish good times together. It’s a relaxed way to communicate, taking the pressure off of immediate responses!

Not only can you reap all the benefits journaling has to offer like reduced stress, improved wellbeing, and less negative thoughts, but you also create a safe space for you and your partner to freely share and record anything you’d like.

Ready to strengthen your relationship and learn how to start a couples journal? Let’s get into these super unique, effective, and intriguing couple journal ideas!

Table of Contents

35 Ideas for Creating the Ultimate Couples Journal

These cute couple journal ideas include something for every couple! Whether you’re just dating, in a serious relationship, or in a loving marriage. Looking for long distance relationship journal ideas? I got you! Simply want some nice love journal ideas for him or her? You’ll find ’em here!

Don’t forget about these Couple Journal Ideas! Pin ’em to come back!

long distance relationship journal ideas

Couple Journal Ideas for Self-Reflection

Reflecting on each other, yourselves personally, or the relationship as a whole is a healthy thing to do. See how far you’ve come together and how you can continue to support each other and grow as a couple with these couple journal ideas!

What Do You Write in a Couples Journal?

1. Share Your First Date Story

No two stories are alike, and we all have a different perspective on how things came about! Choose to recount either your first date or the first time you met your partner.

The best way to do this is to write a page recounting the story yourself, then hand the journal to your partner for them to recount their version of the story. Don’t look at each other’s stories until the end, and then compare the two!

When I first did this with my partner, I was surprised to find that he was intimidated by me the first time we met!

I was so nervous and caught up in my own head that I wouldn’t have dreamed he thought I was “out of his league” (as he put it!), but that just goes to show you never know what they were thinking!

2. Jot Down Shared Interests and Character Traits

When you’re asked, “what do you have in common?” your mind may jump to shared interests such as cooking, running, video games, and other hobbies. Shared interests are one thing, and they are awesome!

But there’s something even more important to consider between you and your significant other.

And that’s your shared character traits. Are you both ambitious? Enjoy getting out of the house? Adventurous? Open-minded? Homebodies? Character traits are arguably more important than interests when it comes to how well you connect on a deeper level and your outlooks on life.

Together, sit down with your partner and brainstorm two different columns in your journal: your shared interests and your shared character traits.

Or, you could even make a venn diagram outlining both your own interests and traits and see where the overlap is!

3. Compare and Contrast Your Upbringings

My boyfriend and I grew up in VASTLY different ways!

I was raised in big cities all my life, grew up an only child, and had a lot of struggles in my childhood. He, on the other hand, stayed in the same small town all his life, had 2 siblings, and had a pretty easygoing childhood.

Reflecting not only on your background differences, but also how they shaped you into the people you are today is super valuable!

You can learn a lot about each other this way and realize the ways in which your upbringing had a positive or negative impact on you.

4. Daily or Weekly Reflections

Kinda what journals are most commonly used for, right? But doing this simple practice together as a couple allows you to check in with each other. Get to know how your partner is feeling, what they’re thinking, and any insights to share!

5. Emotional Check-Ins

Going beyond a general daily or weekly reflection, you can make it more personal and vulnerable with emotional check-ins.

It’s so important for you and your partner to sit down and truly assess how you’re actually feeling. There may be struggles you’ve been dealing with alone, and if so, this encourages you to lean on your partner. That’s what they’re there for!

6. Record Moments of Mindfulness

First, ask yourself: what are some areas you can practice more mindfulness with your partner?

Do you struggle to be truly present during quality time? Does your mind drift off somewhere else during intimacy?

Once you identify these areas for improvement, come back to your journal each time you practice mindfulness with your partner and take note of it. Describe the setting, what helped you be more mindful, and how it felt.

Couple Journal Ideas for Planning Things Together

“Always be planning the next step” is great advice for keeping your relationship a priority and mapping out your future together! These couple journal ideas will encourage you to think about all your dreams and goals together as a couple.

7. Identify Your Goals and Plans for the Future

Planning for your future together can be so exciting! There’s a million different ways your lives together can go, so consider some of the following when writing out your dreams and plans for the future:

What kind of home do you want to live in?
Where, in the world, do you want to live? Rural, country, city?
Do you want to get married? If so, will you have a wedding or elope?
Do you want children? Why or why not? If so, how many?
When do you want to “settle down” and buy a house, get married, etc.?
What types of things do you want to save for together? Traveling the world, buying a house, opening a business?

After you’ve assessed where you both stand on some of these areas, write down specific goals to work on together as a couple and an action plan for getting there.

You should absolutely check out my printable goal planner that gets into all the nitty-gritty details of making goals that actually STICK! It walks you through how to not only set the right goals, but all the step-by-step actions for actually staying on track to achieve them. Click to learn more about it below!

GET THE GOAL PLANNER

8. Create a Bucket List

Planning real set-in-stone goals is necessary, but having a little more fun in your goals is good too!

That’s why I suggest creating a couples bucket list together for all the things you might want to do over the course of your lifetime (or over the summer, or whatever suits you!)

Things to think about when creating a bucket list as a couples journal idea:

The places you want to travel to
The restaurants you want to try
The activities you want to try together
Things you want to achieve in your lifetime
The people you want to meet
The concerts you want to go to

Absolutely anything can go on your couples bucket list–the sky’s the limit! Make it fun 😊

9. Brainstorm One Thing You Can Add to Your Relationship

It’s easy to fall into a too-comfortable routine when you’re in a long-term relationship.

Life gets busy, work can be all-consuming, and household chores can feel endless. In order to nurture your relationship in spite of these things, think of something you can add to keep your relationship alive.

This can be new date ideas, a new weekly hobby you pick up together, something in the bedroom…anything you both enjoy!

10. Keep a Date Night Planner

You can dedicate a section of your journal to jotting down fun date ideas and planning them!

When life gets busy, date nights can sometimes fall on the back burner. Keeping a schedule and a list of fun ideas will help you make dates a priority.

My boyfriend and I created a fun way to come up with new date ideas: put rainbow popsicle sticks in a mason jar, with each color having a category for things like indoor date ideas, outdoor date ideas, restaurants, etc.

Write your favorite places in town on each popsicle stick according to the category, and draw a stick from the jar at random when it’s time for date planning! Just add it to your schedule and you’re set.

11. Plan Future Home Improvement Projects

Home renovations and DIY projects can be quite the process to say the least. This couples journal idea will keep projects way more organized! You can document ideas, plan budgets, map out timelines, and write down needed materials.

12. Take on a Self-Improvement Challenge Together

Set a self-improvement challenge to tackle together! You can use your journal to track your progress and share insights.

This can be a health challenge, habit challenge, fitness challenge, or anything you guys are into. You can give this 30 day mental wellness challenge a try if you need ideas!

Cute Couple Journal Ideas for Showing Love

Never take your partner for granted. Always make sure you’re showing them the love and gratitude they deserve, and make sure it’s mutual on both sides! These couple journal ideas will help you express your appreciation for your one and only.

13. Record Good News and Milestones

Sometimes it can feel like bad news overpowers the amount of good news we receive, but this couples journal idea will shift your perspective!

This is a super quick and easy journal idea that doesn’t need a lot of dedicated time.

Each time something good happens in your lives or you hit a new milestone in your relationship (moving into your first apartment, getting a good job offer, or even having a romantic ice cream date), record it in the journal!

Taking note of all the wins both big and small will make you happier and give you something positive to look back on!

14. Keep a List of Daily Affirmations for Each Other

Boost each other’s confidence by writing positive affirmations in your journal to read when you’re feeling down. A little note in your partner’s handwriting can be the sweetest reminder that you are so loved!

15. Make a Love Coupon Book

Get creative and hand-draw love coupons with special treats or favors! Let’s say you create a coupon for one free 30-minute back massage. Your partner can cut the coupon out of the journal and redeem it any time. (Of course, your partner would make coupons you can redeem too!)

16. Write Love Letters to Each Other

It might be old fashioned, but it’s a good one! Take turns writing love letters to each other in your couples journal expressing fond memories and all the things you love about each other.

Making dedicated time to get personal and sentimental with your partner will make you both feel loved and appreciated. Some of the best gifts I’ve received from my partner have been love letters, so they really are that meaningful!

17. Make a Gratitude Journal

Turn a section of your couples journal into a gratitude journal!

This can be as simple or involved as you want it to be. You can simply jot down a list of all the things you’re grateful about your partner and your life together. Or you can respond to detailed gratitude journal prompts like these.

If guided journals are a big help to you to get the thoughts flowing, you’ll love my printable gratitude journal.

Buy it once, and you can print out two copies for you and your partner to get the gratitude going! It’s waaay easier than staring at a blank page feeling stumped! Check it out below.

My printable gratitude journal has everything you need to develop life-changing positive habits that make self love easier!

With morning, evening, weekly, and monthly gratitude exercises, you’ll stay accountable! Jam-packed with thought-provoking journal prompts and activities to keep you focused and on track.

GET THE GRATITUDE JOURNAL

Couple Journal Ideas for Long Distance Relationships

Anyone who’s been there can agree: long distance relationships AREN’T easy!

But with two devoted, committed people they certainly are possible. Support each other during long distance with these couple journal ideas for making the miles apart feel less challenging!

18. Make a Digital Journal Entry Each Time You Need Support

You can get a simple digital journal like this one from Etsy that both you and your partner can access and collaborate on.

This is really awesome if you’re in different time zones or have different schedules, because you can send the digital journal back and forth and check in on your partner’s thoughts and feelings even if you aren’t available to talk at the same time.

You can use it for venting, sharing your day, or even sending little love note blurbs whenever you’re thinking about your partner!

19. Keep a Photo Journal

Go one step beyond just sharing photos with each other. Get creative! You can create a shared photo album to act as a digital photo journal, but make it unique! Doodle or add text to your photos describing the context in more detail.

20. Journal Exchange

You can still keep a physical couples journal when you’re long distance! How cute would it be to exchange the journal each time you see each other? That way, you each get a solid chunk of time trading off stories, thoughts, and feelings.

21. Fill a Mason Jar With 100 Reasons Why I Love You

My boyfriend and I dealt with long distance pretty early in our relationship, so our first Christmas together involved a cross-country visit to see each other.

My Christmas present to him was exactly this: a mason jar with 100 reasons why I loved him. He absolutely loved it!

I bought a small mason jar and mini sticky notes to write my little “reasons” on, folded them up, and placed them in the jar. This is a great idea because it’s something you can either mail off, or save for when you see them in person next!

They can read through the notes whenever they need some encouragement or when they’re missing you.

22. Monthly Recaps

This is a nice, lower-commitment way to journal with your long distance boyfriend or girlfriend. You can share the highs and lows of each month to keep up-to-date on your lives. It’s a good opportunity to reflect on how your relationship is evolving too!

23. Dream Big About Closing Your Distance

Long distance relationships should always have an approximate end date somewhere in sight. This keeps you both motivated to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

So once you’ve nailed down the day you’ll close your distance, discuss what that entails!

Will you move in together? Where will you move to? What kind of home will you live in? What types of dates will you go on regularly?

Talking about what life will be like when you finallyyyy get to reunite for good and see each other on a regular basis can really keep your spirits up!

Couple Journal Prompts & Questions to Ask

If you’re not the creative types and elaborate journal activities aren’t your thing, no worries! Keeping it simple with some interesting couple journal prompts is plenty valuable! Try these couples journal questions to learn more about them than ever before!

24. Think of a time where you felt closest to your partner. What made it special?

This is the perfect couples journal prompt to take turns writing! On one journal page, describe what made you feel extra close to your partner during a specific moment you cherish. Then, hand the journal off to them to record their response on the next page.

After you’ve both answered, read your responses out loud and see what special memories came up! This is a great way to compare your individual perspectives.

25. Share a dream or aspiration you’ve never told each other before.

We might think we know our partners inside and out, but there’s always something new to learn! Perhaps your partner used to dream of a career field that you never would’ve imagined them desiring.

Or, maybe you find out that your partner would love to spend a year backpacking through remote parts of Europe! Who knows what you’ll discover about each other!

26. What has your relationship taught you?

Not only what you’ve learned about each other, but what you’ve learned about life and your values through your relationship.

Maybe your partner restored your faith in knowing there’s good people out there! Or maybe you thought you never wanted to get married, but now you do.

27. What is one thing you’d like to change about your communication?

Communication can be tricky and there’s almost always room for improvement. Take this moment to better-explain your needs and preferences when it comes to communicating with each other. Writing this down in a couples journal is already a communication-booster!

28. What did you learn from a challenge you went through together?

It’s natural to face challenges as a couple, especially in long-term relationships. Was there a source of tension or stress in your relationship that you were both able to work on and overcome? What did you learn from it?

29. What would the “perfect” day spent together look like?

You and your partner may have totally different opinions on what would make the perfect date/day! It’ll be interesting to see what they come up with. Maybe you can incorporate aspects of both your perfect day and theirs!

30. What’s your favorite memory from your early relationship days?

Think back to when your relationship was in its infancy. Was there a moment where your partner really won you over? Did you guys share an experience like nothing you’ve ever felt before?

31. Describe your dream vacation as a couple

Maybe you’re dreaming of an over-the-top amazing honeymoon in a faraway destination. You might love the tropics, while they might love quiet mountain escapes. Learn more about what you each consider the “dream” getaway!

32. Write a letter to your future selves. What do you want to experience together?

Do you see yourselves settling down early in a nice little suburb? Want to live your youth for as long as possible, taking advantage of city life? Share some of the directions you’d like your lives to take you in!

33. What personal goals are you working on, and how can you support one another?

You should always have personal goals that benefit you, outside of your relationship. Share some personal goals you’re working on and discuss what kind of support you need from each other to achieve them!

34. What’s the most daring thing you’d like to do with each other?

This can be taken in any direction you want! It could be something outdoorsy and adventurous, or even something in the bedroom. However you interpret it is up to you to explore!

35. What could you do more of in your relationship?

This is your chance to get real with your partner. Write down what you’d like to see more of in your relationship. What could add more value, support, or excitement to things? Have them do the same. Compare your thoughts and feelings and make a plan to implement these aspects.

How Starting Your Couples Journal Can Support a Healthy Relationship

Starting a special journal just for you and your partner is a great way to connect on a deeper level, record your favorite memories, and learn more about each other.

Ask yourselves: What’s the goal? What do you want to achieve or look back on? This adds an entirely new dimension to your relationship where you and your partner can get more vulnerable, intimate, and trusting–all to build a stronger relationship!

Plus, journaling can be a more effective way to communicate with your partner (many people find it easier to express themselves in writing instead of verbally!). Or it can be a way to remember all the good times you’ve shared together.

I like the way Janae Munday, LCSW puts it, “think of your journal as a special conversation between you.” Because it totally is! Keep that in mind as you try these couple journal ideas.

Benefits of Journaling for Couples

You might already know that journaling improves your well-being, but doing it as a couple has added benefits that support both you and your partner! Some positive impacts include:

Stronger communication (because you’re practicing it in a new way!)
Identifying the strong and weak parts of your relationship in a constructive way
Better conflict resolution
Increased intimacy and vulnerability, deepening your bond
The opportunity to be present and practice mindfulness with your partner
Recording beloved memories together
Increased empathy, as you and your partner can see each other’s perspectives in a new light
Personal growth both independently and as a couple!

Needless to say, you’ll become one of the stronger couples out there when you journal together!

Top Tips for Making a Couples Journal With Your Partner

To get the most rewarding and intimate couples journaling experience, follow these tips!

Talk about goals – do you want your shared journal to improve your communication? Record meaningful moments? Use it for fun activities? This will give you some direction!
Choose the right journal – you can start from scratch with a blank journal, or if you need a little guidance, there’s actually journals out there that are specifically for couples! (Scroll down a little and I’ll show you my best recommendations for couples journals to buy 😉)
Make a plan – all too often, people start journals and forget about them a month later. Don’t let that happen to you! Create a plan for how often you’ll write in your journal, whether you’ll take turns or write together, and specific content you’ll focus on.
Establish this as a team effort! – make the journal a truly shared activity, where you’re both giving equal time and effort into it. Try different approaches to find what works, whether it’s collaborative or taking turns.

Let this be your shared space to nurture your relationship and grow together!

Best Journals to Buy for Couples

Find it easier to stick to a journal when you’re using a guided one? Grab one of these couple journals if you like something that’s already put-together for you to fill out!

1. The Adventure Challenge: Couples’ Edition

SNAG THE ADVENTURE CHALLENGE

This is probably the most unique couples journal because it’s a scratch-off memory book! The Adventure Challenge: Couples’ Edition keeps you on your partner on your toes by having you take on a new MYSTERY adventure…and you don’t know what it’ll be until you scratch it off!

Once you scratch it off, you’ll reveal a new spontaneous activity to try. It could be baking a homemade apple pie while blindfolded, re-creating your grandparents’ first date…and tons of other wacky fun things! Definitely keeps the spice alive!

2. The Book of You & Me

GRAB IT ON AMAZON

The Book of You & Me journal offers 365 days of questions for you and your partner to run through together! The questions are super intriguing with tons of variety and range from thought-provoking hypotheticals, exploring your pasts, envisioning the future, and much more to uncover you and your partner’s deeper thoughts. A great tool for learning more about how your brains work!

3. The Lover’s Journal (In a Pair!)

SHOP SMALL ON ETSY

Instead of having just one journal you share together, you each get your own with The Lover’s Journal! It’s a co-creative, guided journal for couples. This features 52 weekly journal prompts (rather than daily like the journal in #2, so it may be more do-able to keep up with!) also with monthly challenges and exercises.

These journals are perfect for allowing you and your partner the space to express yourselves freely and listen without judgment. It also allows you to highlight all the little things that made you fall in love in the first place–and what’s still to love!

I hope you make the time to explore journaling as a bonding activity with you and your partner! These couple journal ideas will keep you inspired, connected, and most of all always-learning and growing together!

I can’t wait to hear which ideas you’ll choose for your couples notebook!

Let me know in the comments: